Sinopsis

If I Never Knew You Trilogy Series:

PROLOGUE

MY MOM ALWAYS said that everyone has a story to tell. Mine isn't exactly a fairy tale-like the ones you would find in a bedtime story or a movie-but it is one worth telling.


CHAPTER ONE

''ANDY, WILL YOU please come on! You're gonna be late for school!'' I banged on my brother's bedroom door. My mother was already at her cleaning job, which she did from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. ''Turn off that music and come out!'' Finally, the door opened.


CHAPTER TWO

''MADISON, YOUR BROTHER is here!'' one of the other servers informed me, which took me by surprise, considering the time of day. Unless Andy skipped some classes, or something similar to that, he shouldn't be here by now.


CHAPTER THREE

THE NEXT DAY, after work I walked from the bus stop to my house, totally exhausted. The lack of sleep wasn't good and Fridays were especially tiring because everyone seemed to want to come eat at Wayside. I wound up having to work until four, because there were a few people who just didn't seem to want to leave my section.


CHAPTER FOUR

I WAS SURPRISED that Damian really didn't do anything. I thought for sure he'd want something more passionate, but all he did was kiss me before he left. As soon as I stepped out of the airport departure area, I saw Orion and his car parked not far away. We didn't talk much on the ride back to my place, but I sensed we were both happy to be together again. When we arrived at my house, Orion told me that he'd pick Andy and me up at six the next evening. I was definitely more excited than I let on.


CHAPTER FIVE

I LAUGHED LOUDLY at something Orion had just said as we stumbled up the stairs to Orion's apartment. Man, I was drunk! I had glints of guilt for doing this behind Damian's back, but they were always engulfed by a swarm of lust that tugged at the chords between my brain and my heart. Orion looked like he was waging an inner battle as well by the time we got to his apartment door.


CHAPTER SIX

I LEANED BACK against Orion as he took hold of the control stick for some fighting game we were playing. Colby was going against Orion in this game and it was going to be an exciting match. Nora was standing next to the machine. I had originally been playing Colby, who destroyed me-so much for chivalry-and now it was Orion's turn. I tried to move aside to give him room, but he just came up from behind and wrapped an arm around me, telling me to stay put.


CHAPTER SEVEN

A FEW DAYS later, I walked into my house just after midnight, exhausted from another day of double shifts. For the last few days I had been going crazy with work and I felt as if my whole body might crumble into pieces at any moment. I was lucky that I was young had lots of energy when I needed it, even if I was dead tired when I finished work.


CHAPTER EIGHT

I RUBBED MY eyes and yawned. Orion did come with Mom and Andy for dinner, but there was little conversation at the table, as Orion and I were not in the mood for socializing after our fight. Andy and Mom asked numerous times what was going on, but neither of us could give them convincing answers since we really didn't know ourselves.


CHAPTER NINE

THE PHONE WAS ringing again. Why did it always have to ring when I was asleep? I started moving to grab it when I realized that Damian had spent the night, so it couldn't be him calling. I wondered who it could be.


CHAPTER TEN

ONCE HE FINISHED the song I nearly cried, but I remembered Damian was there with me. I couldn't believe he wrote it about me! I wanted to run up on stage and kiss him.


CHAPTER ELEVEN

I WENT TO work, leaving Andy and Orion to do as they pleased. Mom was due to arrive home at one that afternoon. I figured she would be tired after her vigil at the hospital and would probably want to take a rest after lunch. Poor Aunt Cheryl had cancer and the prognosis was not good, so Mom would be making many more visits to her in the near future since our grandparents had passed and there were few other siblings.


CHAPTER TWELVE

AFTER STUFFING OURSELVES on Hawaiian pizza, I was so full that I was about to crash on the sofa, or at least I would have if the doorbell hadn't rang.


CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MY MOM WOULD always say, ''You never appreciate what you have until it's gone.'' Well, in my case it's a little different. I knew what I had before it was gone. And now that it was gone, I was tearing myself apart.


CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I USUALLY ENJOYED the end of April and the beginning of May, but this year it didn't seem as beautiful as usual. I was still feeling pretty bad most days, I had not dealt with Damian-I never was good dealing with people in a serious way-and Orion was constantly on my mind. So, I did what I always did when I felt pressured-I tried to escape from reality. I thought it would be nice to visit Andy at school one day after my boss suggested I take a day off to relax. Andy's suspension was over so he would be there. If I was right, he would be on his spare period. A few of his other friends had a spare period at that time, too. They usually sat outside on the bleachers by the football field.


CHAPTER FIFTEEN

NEITHER ANDY NOR I saw or spoke to Madison much for the next few days, since she had decided to stay at Damian's for a while. I could not imagine what she was thinking. She was a secretive type of girl who rarely opened up about her life.


CHAPTER SIXTEEN

YOU KNOW THAT feeling that you think you're awake, but you just can't open your eyes? That's pretty much how I felt when I woke up in the hospital. I heard people talking around me, but couldn't get my eyes to open to see what was going on. Everyone sounded like Charlie Brown's teacher. My arms felt heavy and my head felt warm and sticky. Then I was out like a light again. This happened several times before I felt someone take my hand and I forced my eyes open to see my brother standing over me. I looked past Andy and saw Orion too. Then I saw my uncle, who looked really concerned. I had never seen that look on his face before. My mom then walked into the room and gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. I felt myself blush.


CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I WAS ALLOWED out of the hospital after another two days when the doctor finally proclaimed that I was ready to go home. Orion had to get another bag to pack up with because of all the stuff everyone had given me during the last ten days. It was mostly stuffed animals and there were a few balloons that I wound up popping as we tried to secure them on the bag. Also, there were loads of flowers that we put into a box. Everyone fussed over me on the day that I got to leave. I kept saying I could do things for myself, but they wouldn't let me, so I wound up getting to sit in a wheelchair, with Andy pushing.


CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

IF THERE WAS anything that needed to be said about my pregnancy, it was that it was a pain in the ass ! Between the mood swings, nausea fits and exhaustion, I was surprised I hadn't sent Orion running yet. I was also surprised that it only hit me right then, being four and a half months along, that I really was pregnant. I guess the catalyst was when I noticed my belly getting bigger and feeling the baby move.


CHAPTER NINETEEN

''YOU CAN'T BE serious,'' Orion said.


Epilogue

Can you believe it! I, Madison Summers, of all people, am actually at a completely happy point in my life. Of course, I had to go through an unplanned pregnancy, three years of raising an adorable boy and get pregnant again for this to happen.


BOOK TWO - TO KNOW YOU IS TO LOVE YOU




CHAPTER TWENTY

''NOAH, I'M GOING to kill you!'' I shrieked at my brother.


CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

''LOSER ALERT,'' I said under my breath, as I walked past the popular crowd in Kennewa High School-a private school just outside of Knightsbridge, a suburb New York. I locked eyes with Landon for a second and then I made sure to glare at him.


CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

AFTER I HAD moped in my room about ten minutes, there was a knock at the front door and I heard Mom call that she would get it. The door swung open as I held my ear against my bedroom door to see who it was. Then I heard her speaking with someone whose voice I unfortunately recognized all too well-Landon. What did he want and who did he think he was, coming over to my house when he was definitely not welcome?


CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

I WAS RIGHT. I hated being right sometimes.


CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

''SO WHAT ARE you doing for Halloween?'' Landon asked me while we were in my bedroom, working on the music for Freedom.


CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

FAITH DID CAT calls.


CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

''SO, WHAT HAPPENED in the haunted house?'' Faith asked. ''We heard that the power went off.''


CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

I LAUGHED AND flopped down on Landon's bed. It was the first time in years since I had been there. We usually met at my place for practices, but since Noah had to work and our parents were going out for date night, Dad didn't trust me alone in the house with a boy, so we had to practice at Landon's place. Annette, his mom, shrieked when she saw me and wrapped me up in a ginormous hug. I was happy to see her again, too.


CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

''MISS RILEY PRATT.'' I looked up to see one of the teachers monitoring the cafeteria standing over me. ''Your grandfather is here to see you. He's waiting in the office.'' I wanted to ask what the reason for the visit was, but the teacher just walked away.


CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

I STARED AROUND in awe when we arrived at the forest just outside the neighborhood. Our little club house was still there! Okay, so it wasn't really little-both of us could stand up in it and it had room for four people to sleep without being too crowded. There was the furniture we had fashioned ourselves: the crates we had used for chairs and the stump we used for a table. I marvelled at Landon's ingenuity in bringing me here again.


CHAPTER THIRTY

NOW, WHY DID I let him talk me into this? Why the hell was I so freaked by this? And why the fuck did I keep talking to myself?


CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

LANDON DIDN'T COME over for practice on Saturday because he wasn't feeling well. On Monday, Mrs. Wilson came down with the same flu bug Landon had picked up, so the practice at school was cancelled for that day. Now, I could have left right after school, which meant taking the bus since Noah was not available until later, due to some tutoring he was involved in. On my way to the store to get some change for the bus, a car pulled up next to me-a car I recognized.


CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

I SIGHED AND looked down at my sketch before hastily erasing part of it. I looked back up at the stage, watching Landon sing. He really was very talented. I turned my attention back to my sketch and redid the part I erased. Running my hand through my hair, I thought about how frustrating this was proving to be.


CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

IT WAS AMAZING how fast Christmas decorations went up after Thanksgiving. Almost everywhere I looked there were large, fancy displays of items such as colognes that one would buy a loved one for Christmas.


CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

''Riley, I swear to you that I wasn't taking part in that shit,'' Noah said.


CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

''SO, CAN WE finally hear this song you've been working on so long?'' Faith asked one day in Drama.


CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

I TAPPED MY foot and sang along with a song from Freedom that I was listening to while doing some homework. There was no school that day because there had been a freak storm overnight and the Board of Education had cancelled the schools. It was a good thing, too, because it gave me time to do the homework that I should have done the night before. However, I procrastinated on instant messenger with Landon.


CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

I LOVED CHRISTMAS parties since I was a little girl. Obviously, these days I wasn't into the finger painting and silly Christmas songs like when I was little. But I still liked going to the ones geared more towards adults, now that I was older. Especially when the party was held at the recording label that the girls and I were soon going to be signed on with.


CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

''HOW ABOUT THIS one?'' Landon asked.


CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

MY BACK HIT the bed and I was able to breathe for a second before Landon's lips recaptured mine. I moaned and worked on the buttons of his shirt. Damn him for dressing nicely for the party! I finally got his shirt off him and ran my hands over his taut chest and stomach.


CHAPTER FOURTY

Riley:


CHAPTER FOURTY-ONE

I WASN'T SURE what to think anymore over the next few days. Everything seemed to make me a bit jumpy for no apparent reason and, to top things off, Preston seemed to be behaving strangely. He was by my side an awful lot and hardly left me and Landon alone for longer than a minute. Either because of Preston' weird behavior or by some unknown force, I wasn't hanging around with Landon so much anymore. I was confused because I had slept with the guy, but something else had come over me-something I couldn't explain.


CHAPTER FOURTY-TWO

FOR VALENTINE'S DAY, I got flowers from Preston, a teddy bear from my dad, and cards and chocolates from the girls-we did that every year. Landon gave me a lovely, rose-scented soap, which I really appreciated.


CHAPTER FOURTY-THREE

IT WAS AMAZING how I could sleep anywhere but on a plane. I was tired-I knew that-but I just couldn't sleep. We had a red eye flight, so everyone else, except Landon of course, was already asleep. Landon and I had one big blanket over both of us. He was reading something when I looked at him. I yawned and stretched my arms above my head, drawing his attention to me as I flicked the blanket off.


CHAPTER FOURTY-FOUR

THIS WAS THE worst thing ever! I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms.


CHAPTER FOURTY-FIVE

Landon:


CHAPTER FOURTY-SIX

I MISSED THAT Math test. Funny how I'd been locked up for a week and the only thing I could think of is that I missed a stupid test in school. But I missed more than that. I missed my parents, my brother, my grandfather, my aunt and uncle, my cousin, my friends-God, I missed all of them! Hell, I was even willing to put up with La